'Patient-centric Marketing Will Become A Fundamental Pillar In The Future Of Pharma Marketing'

Sumita Mohapatro Pani, Senior General Manager, Lupin speaks to Viveka Roychowdhury on the rewriting of the pharma sales and marketing playbook in the past two decades and highlights what makes pharma brand positioning so unique

- Viveka Roychowdhury

Sumita, you have spent more than 24 years in pharmaceutical sales and marketing, across verticals spanning cardiology, neurology, psychiatry, nephrology, urology, and oncology. Can you highlight a couple of major changes in pharmaceutical sales & marketing strategies in the past two decades? How do you see the integration of marketing strategies playing out?

There have been several major changes in the pharma industry over the last two decades, leading to a rewriting of the pharma sales and marketing playbook. Pharma firms have strategically intensified their focus on cardiological and respiratory disorders, diabetes, and neuropsychiatry due to a rise in their prevalence. They have also started paying more attention to oncology, nephrology, and urology.

The concept of ‘Category Captainship’ has evolved from broad categorization of ‘Chronic – Acute’ to Segment Captainship – Cardiology /Diabetology / Anti-infectives/ Neuropsychiatry, etc. This is now further narrowing down to Therapy Captainship including ‘Antihypertensives / Heart failure / Antiplatelets within Cardiology, Anti Epileptics /Antidepressants /Dementia, etc. within neuropsychiatry and so on. Strategically, firms are working towards attaining Therapy Captainship which also ensures a level and fair playing field for the smaller players and new entrants.